Niger, Nigeria, and Mali have recently carried out a series of targeted operations against the leadership of Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru, and the Islamic State in the Sahel, delivering significant blows to these groups and disrupting their command structures across the region.
In Niger, the Nigerien Armed Forces (FAN) announced on August 15 the neutralization of Ibrahim Mahamadou, known as “Bakoura,” leader of the JAS faction of Boko Haram, during an air operation on Chilawa Island in the Diffa region. The operation followed weeks of reconnaissance and precision strikes.
Bakoura, a former lieutenant of Abubakar Shekau, assumed leadership of JAS after Shekau’s suicide in May 2021 and escalated attacks against civilians and security forces in the Lake Chad Basin.
Niamey attributes to him the kidnapping of several hundred schoolchildren in Kuriga, Nigeria, in March 2024. Experts such as Vincent Foucher have urged caution in confirming his death definitively.
In Nigeria, authorities announced on August 16 the arrest of two senior figures from Ansaru, a Boko Haram splinter faction linked to Al-Qaeda.
Mahmud Muhammad Usman, alias Abu Bara’a, the group’s leader, and his deputy Mahmud al-Nigeri, alias Mallam Mamuda, were captured during operations conducted between May and July 2025.
The duo faced charges related to attacks, kidnappings, and orchestrating escapes. Abuja described their arrest as “the most decisive blow against Ansaru since its creation in 2012.”
Earlier, on May 30, 2025, Nigerian special forces neutralized Amir Abu Fatima, a high-ranking ISWAP commander, along with several of his lieutenants in Borno State.
Abu Fatima, accused of masterminding numerous attacks in the Lake Chad Basin, was the subject of a bounty.
Weapons and improvised explosive device materials were seized during the operation, which incurred no losses on the Nigerian side and was hailed as a “major success” by the military.
In Mali, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) conducted multiple operations against the Islamic State in the Sahel (ISIS) in the Gao and Ménaka regions since January 2025, neutralizing or capturing senior figures including Mahamad Ould Erkehile, alias “Abou Rakia,” Abraham Boubacar, alias “Oubel,” “Abou Dahdah,” an ideologue and explosives specialist, and Souleymane Ag Bakawa, alias “Soldat.”
These operations reflect growing pressure on ISIS leadership, which continues to pose a threat in northeastern Mali.
These coordinated actions across Niger, Nigeria, and Mali underline a regional effort to dismantle jihadist command structures and enhance the protection of civilian populations in the Lake Chad Basin and the wider Sahel.
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